Shock-absorber.



M. C. OVERMAN. I

SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.26,1912.

' 1,060,017. Patented Apr. 29, 1913,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

7 T v. l IIIIIJTWW'JJ 1 l WITNESSES! W 0 MMWNVENTOR ATTORNEY M. O. OVER-MAN.

SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION PlLED SEPT. 26, 1912.

Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

Loeogmv;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORN EY /(\g|TNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFT-ICE.

MAX CYRUS OVEBMAN', OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

To tilt whomco n eerrt Be-itknown-thatLfMax CYRUS Ovnnuax,

a citizen of the- United-States, residing at New York,'1n1 the county of New York and -Sta.te of New. Yqrk,;-.lrareinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shot-lg- Absorbers, of M'hltlh; the following is a specizficatlon.

f This'im'entiona'elates.to-rbad vehicles and IOPZII'IICIIIZIIZlYgiO automobiles and to means adapted to leSsen t-he-"$h0'cl s of riding over a rough surface, ancl-its-nov'elty consists in the construction and adaptation of parts as will be more fully hereinaftentpoiutedout.

Thereurethreeousual iways'of providing of. the re 3 brael'cet or some; other isuittible "m'eans. with which one end of the spring is eonneeted; and (3th)three quartrs'elli-ptit:in whielrthe lowereuredi' toythi running. gear is inthe form a 'h'a-l llip'se and-the upper trit-l body if'the vehicle is v quanterrofan ellipse. In short,"' --the main. ring:- means consists of a part on, the body' 'lri'eh may. therefore eonvenientl y he calle't a-hody part, and of anin' theifo'rm at other '-"1nrrt 'on-therumiinggear whieh in 40 ohst'a'elej or" obstacle turn maybe etmrenien tly ealletl-a running gear part andithe'se ma y consist of braekets and springs in'variouseon'il inations; When .a' vehicle (such asis'refem'etlito, rides over an thewruuning gear is thrownu'pward towa d-t'he l'mdy .and the shoek is transmittedthi'ough the spring systehirfefid to 'tbf t'liebo ly", but on aet-ount of the el'ti lstieity of the -springs its severity, duration and extent are diminished and comlortable riding ensues; It, however, happens where roads are so rough that. numerous shocks of this kind take plaee, the vibrations of the spring system rapidly slit-(teed "each other. to. s'ueh an extent 'tha-t th'e lmtly-otthe vehieleacqtiiresan angle :ant'yihi'atory motion. It is tO, o v:e r(Eon;3e-theseyibrations that 'shoek absorbers are el'npltf yjed. it; isohvious' thafs'ho'ek absorber. "of any-kind must be interposed "in the spring system between the s ring of the run'niifggear of the-vehicle SHOCK-ABSORBER.

v Specification of Letters Patent. :Appfieatien filed September es, 1912. Serial No. 722,405.

Patented Apr. 29, 19 t3.

and the spring of the body of the vehit'le. or some other portion of the body of the rehiele asmay oecur. or, in short. they must he interposed between the running gear parts and the body parts of the mainspring means.

I have dis-"ovel't'd that one of the most etlieient forms of shock absorbers comprises two mutually movable members, one adapted to telescope with the other and surround ing a nest or nests of springs so arranged that when the running gear and body of the veluele are moved toward eat-h other, as above stated, this motion is by suitable mechanism etm'veved to one of these telescoping members, the other being relatively fixed with respeetthereto and the shoek is taken up by the resili aiey or the spring system forming part thereof. .-\lso by arranging such ttHllOt'h' absorber in horizontal p isi'tion an d substantially parallelavith' the members .of the main springs..I [ind thatlongerresilient members may be employed than ean otherwise he used, and thata eorresptmding ellieieney tit-operation and delicacy of adjustment ran be secured.

This deviee is etlieient but under some conditions of use 1 have found that the various lines of energy have a tendeney to counter aetand halanee eaeh other. Alter mueh experiment IV have discovered that this aetion ean be prevented it' thedistanee between the fulerum of the lever and that member of the SilOt'h' absorber with whit-h it. is 'not eonneeted ean be kept eonst'anl, and I- provide means for that purpose by rigidly connecting the fulerum pivot to th'trpivotpt' the seeond shoek absorber member. aml permitting to the latter a slight freedom of movement. This will be readily.understood from the t'leseript-iou whit-h follows.

in. the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the rear portion of a velnele equipped with my improved derive, and with a threequarter elliptieal spring, the upper and lower springs being Ill, normal position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lower spring and a central longitudinal set-lion of the.

- shot-k absorber. the'parls being shown in the position \Vllitil they asslnne. when the upper and. lower springs are in the saline position as in Fig. t; Fig. I} is a view similar to Fig. .2exeept that the running gear and the body have been foreed toward each other the tubular parts of the shot-k absorber being shown in perspective and the springs being broken away. to show the parts underneath.

In the drawings, 1 designates the body or upper part of a vehicle and 2 the running straps 6..

its usually made, the upper and lower springs are secured together at one end and their opposite ends are free and are com-- monly united by a. shackle plate. In the illustration, this shackle plate is shown as removed and is replaced by a link 10 secured to the lower spring by a pivot 11 and a lever 12 secured, to the free end of the upper spring 3 by a pivot 13 on which it is fulcrumed. The lever 12 has an outwardly extending arm 14.which makes of it an elbow lever and this in turn is secured to one member of the shock absorber by a pivot 15. The other arm of the lever 12 is, secured-to the link 10 by .a pivot 16.

The shockabsorbe'r as shown in Figs. 1, 2

. and 3 comprises a pair of telescoping tubes 20 and 21 having closed heads 22'and 23 respectively, the latter being'also provided with a "cylindrical dust guard indicated at 24. The head 23 is provided with a rearwardly extending member 25 which is vertically apertured and adpated to fit loosely upon an arm 250 whose upper end-is pivoted at 256 to swing freely in the plane of the drawin from a strap 251 secured upon the relatively rigid portion of the lower spring 5 by any suita le means'as the nuts 252. There are two retaining disks 253 on the arm 250 and between them and the member 25 are compression 'springs'254. By this construction the arm 25- of the tube 21 has a sli ht freedom or play of movement vertica y and yet the springs 254 always tend to restore it to normal position after any such movement. This strap 251 or any other suitable means of sup orting the arm 25 might as well be place on any other part of the running gear of the vehicle as on the rigid part 0 the lower spring,.but it is placed as it is for convenience of attachment. Within the tube 21 is arranged a disk 27 which has a central a erture 28 to ermit of the passage of a p unger 29 whic .is

rigidly secured to or made into al with the head 22. As shown in the il ustration,

a rod 30 threaded into the head 22 is actually shown pivoted to the arm 14 and the plunger roper is also threaded into the head 22.

rovided with a stop ate 31. The disk 27 ivides the interior 0 the absorber into two. compartments A and B. In the compartment A there is placed a nest of coiled springs 40, 41 and 42 relatively ion and of varying degrees of elasticity. In 516 compartment B there is a nest of two sprin function ofthe springs in the com artment A is that when the arm 14 is oscil ated unlower parts of the vehicle, they wil a shock and to do this in such a manner that the resilient action of the main spring wlll in-the compartment B is to serve as-a chec to the recoil of the springs in the compartment A and thus prevent oscillation.

and the body and running gear are moved the. bracket or arm fixed to the dy of the vehicle when there is no upper spring} will causethe lever 12 to move on its f crum 13, which movement being confined by the the shock absorber, the parts moving from the positions shown'in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3.

50, 50 are two rods, one on each side of the shock absorber, each secured to the inicrum pivot 13 at one end and atthe other end to a pivot 51 in the member 25.

The result-0f my improvement is that the shock absorber is supported most conven at the other end from the bedy, an yet its horizontally movable support from the run ning' gear, and the fact that its second memmain-spring body part, prevent longitudinal displacements of the running gear and the body relative to each other when the re hicle is in motion from substantially operatin the absorber parts to set up vibra tions therein which dampen or choke the real intended work of the absorber which is to handle resiliently the vertical shocks and vibrations that occur between the running gear andthe body.

What I claim is: v

1. The combination in a vehicle of memspring means comprising -a runnmg ear part and a body-part, a. lever fulcrume to the body-part andconnected with the running-gear part to be operated by the relative vertical motion of sai parts, a hor zontally disposed shock absorber comprxsin two relatively movable members, one of w ich is 'operatively connected, to the lever, means w ich supports the second absorber-member 45 and 46 relatively short and stiff. T e

.der the relativemovement of the a per and l take up; and absorb the energy of such movement which is apt to be so quick as to amount to toward each other, the relative movement of the lower spring 5 and upper 5 ring 3 (or be retarded. The function of the sprin t p 35 IV hen the device so far described is used link 10 is directed to the arm 14 and causes an inward movement of the plunger 29 of iently at one end from the running ear and 4 her is tied to the lever-fulcrum end of the from the running-gear so as to be free to move horizontally independent thereof, and means which maintains substantially constant the distance between the second absorber-member and the fulcrum end of the main-spring body part.

2. The combination in a vehicle of main spring means comprising a running-gear part and a body-part-, a lever fulcrumed to the body-part and connected with the runhing-gear part to be operated by the relative vertical motion of said parts, a shock ab sorber disposed horizontally lengthwise of the main-spring running'gear part and comprising two relatively movable members, one of which is operatively connected to the lever, means which supports the second absorber-member from the running gear so as to be free to move horizontally lengthwise of the main-spring runninggear part, and means which maintains substantially constantthe distance between the second absorber-member and the fulcrum end spring means comprising a running-gear part and abody-part, a lever fnlcrumed t0 the body part and connected with the running-gear part to be operated by the relative vertical motion of said parts, a horizontally disposed shock absorber comprising two relatively movable members, one of which is operatively connected to the lever, means which supports the second absorber-member from the running gear so as to be free to move horizontally independent thereof, and

to havevertical play relative thereto, and means which maintains substantially con stant the distance between the second absorber-member and the fulcrum end of the main-spring body part.

4. The combination in a vehicle of main spring means comprising a running-gear part and a body-part, a lever fulcrumed to the body part and connected with thereundisposed shock absorber comprising two relatively movable members, one of'which. is operatively connected to the lever, means pivoted to the running gear and on which the second absorber-member has yielding relatively movable members, one of which is operatively connected to the lever, means which supports the second absorber-member freely from the running gear, and means which unites together the second absorbermember and the main-spring body part so that the first absorber-member can work against the second.

. 6. The combination in a vehicle of mainspring means comprising a running-gearpart and a body-part, a horizontally disposed shock-absorber comprising two relatively movable resiliently related members; connecting means between the aforesaid parts of the main-spring which converts their relative vertical motion into a horizontal motion, said means comprising a lever fulcrumed to one of the main-spring parts and connected with one of the shock-absorber parts; and means which maintains substantially constant the distance between the second shock-absorber member and the fulcrum portion of the aforesaid main spring part.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature presence of two witnesses.

MAX CYRUS OV ERMAN.

Witnesses r VVILLIAM R. BAIRD, EncEwoR'rH GREENE. 

